Asylum
by grainsofsand
Summary: "Never turn your back on any patient, especially down there. Never let your guard down, and note any and all strange behavior, and turn it in to the security staff. Especially with patient three-thirteen."
1. Chapter 1

Asylum

Okay, first off, this one is a little different. This takes place with the map and geography of the Naruto world, but takes place in a modern setting, meaning that there are cars, planes, roads, guns and so on. People are normal, well, for the most part. Normal as in there is no jutsu and such from the Naruto world. That's where I'll leave off when it comes to explaining the nuts and bolts of the story until later on, because I'm interested to see what kind of things you guys come up with. I will be naming the chapters after songs or snippets of lyrics from songs, which will be the reason for the disclaimer in a little bit. The artists will be mainly Korn, Evanessence, Disturbed, Godsmack, Ozzy Osbourne, Marilyn Manson, and Metallica, with bits from others as well. Each chapter will have the band name and such at the beginning.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, the characters from Naruto or any other aspects of Naruto. I do not own any of the songs, lyrics, or any other aspect from any and all music groups, bands, singers, songwriters, and artists that are featured in this story. I also do not own any brand names that may be featured, such as Coke, Pepsi, Crest, Aquafresh, Campbell's, and so on. If it is a brand named thing, I don't own it. I am not a doctor of any kind, any and all information that may be in this story was gathered from a variety of sources and is not intended for personal use, private or otherwise. I am not in any way shape or form qualified to offer advice of any kind, be it physical, mental, or emotional to anyone. If you, a friend, or family needs help, seek it from a qualified professional. Any and all brand named goods, services; songs and so on are property and trademarks of their respective owners. I do not in any way, shape, or form advocate, support, or approve of illegal activities that may or may not be featured in this story. These include, but are not limited to: underage drinking, drug use, theft, murder, and assault. This story is rated M, meaning that there is the distinct possibility of content inappropriate for younger audiences. This content may include violence, drug use, language, blood, gore, sexuality, and subject matter. I have given my one and only warning on content for this story, and while I can rate and warn all I want, I cannot control the actions of others. To any parents who are reading this: your children are your responsibility, not mine. I cannot control what they decide to do on the computer, and if they do something that you don't approve of, it is not my fault or my responsibility. The same thing applies to my younger readers: if you are reading this story and your parents don't want you to and you get in trouble because of it, it is your responsibility, not mine. Again, you clicked on it, not me, so accept responsibility. I'm not trying to scare anyone off or anything, I'm just being thorough. For the record, if anyone thinks of suing me, I'm not even remotely rich. Not by a long shot. It's a waste of time. Seriously, go sue someone else. Now then, without further ado, I give to you the first chapter of Asylum. This lyric snippet is from the song Situation by Godsmack

Chapter One

Situation in My Head

He had never seen anything like it, and by God he hoped that he never would again. Jiraiya, Chief of the City of Konoha Police Department, had been called out of bed at two A.M. to an emergency situation at the local supermarket. It seems that a strange young man had bolted through the doors and had headed straight to the back of the store, the meat department, and had started ripping through the display coolers, tearing open any packages he could lay his hands on, and stuffing the raw, cold meat in his mouth, barely even chewing before swallowing. While highly unusual, it certainly wasn't an emergency. Until, that is, the employees from the store had tried to stop him.

The kid was armed and had thrust a twelve-inch long blade through one of the young men's stomach, damn near disemboweling him, and had taken a bite out of the other one. Hell, he had ripped the kid's goddamned throat out, jugular and everything. That was when they called the cops.

Jiraiya had seen some gruesome homicides in his time. He had seen the aftermath of rival gangs fighting over turf, jealous ex-wives, angry husbands, even a few serial killers. Not once though, had he ever heard or seen a guy take a bite out of someone when they were still alive. That was a first. The young blond cashier -Sally- had exclaimed between sobs and screams that not only had the kid taken a bite out of him, he had swallowed it. Since the kid in question was currently licking his fingers clean of blood, he believed her.

The kid was tall, really tall, fairly thin, and dressed in a simple black shirt, black pants that were not denim, but couldn't be further identified due to the sheer amount of blood, black combat boots, and a long black leather trench coat. He was pale, had crimson red hair and striking green eyes the color of jade. The eyes were ringed in black, but Jiraiya wasn't sure it was makeup, because of the fact that blood had splattered his face and ran down his jaw but the black rings hadn't even run. Tattoo ink, perhaps? There was a tattoo of some kind of his forehead as well, but, again, the blood splatter made it impossible to distinguish. The kid and the surrounding blood stood out starkly against the white tile and the above fluorescent lights weren't helping matters. Packages of meat were scattered everywhere, and the two bodies were still leaking blood. Jiraiya couldn't get any physical details other than they were your typical teenage boys with lanky limbs, short hair, and that they were wearing blue jeans. There was too much blood for anything else. Damn it all, there was blood on the fucking ceiling and twenty, no, thirty feet away down the aisles!

"I won't tell you again! Drop your weapons and get your hands in the air!" Jiraiya barked at him, taking careful aim with his S&W .9 mil. The kid was unfazed, looking at him with a curious expression. _What are you going to do with that?_ No fear, no anger, just curiosity. _What are you going to do with that? _He hadn't even stopped licking the blood; he simply started on his other hand. Granted, those green eyes never once left Jiraiya, but there was simply no fear. Not even concern. Little psycho. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. Damn it all, he wished he had a Taser. His department didn't have enough to make them a weapon to take home along with the guns. There was enough for his officers to patrol with, but that was it. Since he usually didn't patrol, and had been off duty besides, he didn't have one. If he had he would have Tased the boy already.

_"Go away, little man," _the boy hissed at him blandly. Shit, this kid just got creepier and creepier, now he was hissing. He had to be a head case. Had to, because no sane person ate people alive or drank their blood, and no sane person stared down the barrel of a gun without any fear.

He was licking the knife now, and his tongue appeared abnormally long, but that was probably because the tongue was red, the blood was red, and quite frankly Jiraiya was already seriously freaked out. Probably the adrenaline making him see shit, and really it wasn't impossible for a guy to have a tongue that long, after all, look at that one guy from Kiss! He couldn't recall the guy's name right now; the whole psycho-licking-blood-and-eating-people thing was really taking up his concentration.

Ibiki, his lieutenant, bolted up next to him, pointing a Taser at the kid. Other officers joined him, enclosing the kid in a half-circle. He was unimpressed with the seven officers and the Taser.

"Drop the knife and get your hands in the air!" Ibiki yelled. The kid gave him an icy glare.

_"You don't understand, little man."_

"Hands in the air!"

_"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!" _Ibiki fired, and the barbs struck true, a textbook shot to the torso. The electrical current hummed and clicked angrily, but the kid didn't go down. He just cocked his head to on side in confusion, then angrily ripped the barbs from his flesh and threw them aside.

_"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND, I __**NEED**__ IT!"_ he screamed at them. The kid advanced on Ibiki, who was swearing as he drew his own weapon.

"Sir, I think he's on something!"

"Ya think, Guy? Get your fucking hands in the air!" Jiraiya yelled angrily. The kid ignored him, and was immediately swarmed by the officers, who were trying desperately to grapple with the kid and take him down. They slipped and slid in the blood, shoving the kid with all their might and weight, Jiraiya among them, but he refused to go down. Indeed, the writhing kid flung three of them completely off, and shoved another two down in the blood, sending them sliding away.

Jiraiya swore again and tried to tackle the kid again. The kid shrieked angrily and picked him up and bodily slammed him to the bloody floor. His breath left his lungs in a rush, and he saw stars. The kid had to be on something, had to. Meth maybe? LSD? Combination of things? Or maybe he was just crazy. He wasn't in his right mind that's for sure. No one was as strong as a crazy person, except maybe another crazy person.

The kid loomed over him, baring sharp teeth in a hungry grin. Sharp teeth? What the hell? Jiraiya raised his arms to ward off the oncoming bite, but it never came. The kid was knocked to the side by five men in white lab coats. The kid's boots slid in the blood, betraying him and allowing the doctors to briefly grapple with him. One stuck a large syringe filled with clear fluid in the kid's jugular, and paid dearly for it. Sharp teeth clamped on his arm and he screamed as the kid tore his flesh away in a huge strip. A sickening crack was heard as the kid wrapped his hands around the throat of another and twisted brutally. Somehow, another syringe found its way in his throat, and another. The doctors were violently flung off at this point, much like the police officers had been.

The kid stumbled away and went down to his knees, shaking his head in a dazed sort of way. Another group of doctors came in with a wide variety of restraints. One of them hollered out to the officers a brief explanation.

"We're from the Konoha Institution for the Criminally Insane! This is a transfer patient from Suna; he escaped during a traffic stop at the corner 1st and East Main Street while the driver was waiting for the light to change. He killed the driver and the two nurses in attendance, that's why it took so long!" Well, that explained the teeth, people in certain regions of Suna, particularly those in the military, were known to file their teeth to sharp points, sort of a last ditch weapon. Great, the kid was a crazy military brat.

"Well then, glad to have you, because I really don't want this kid in my jail! He'll chew the other inmates to bits!" Jiraiya hollered back. The doctor didn't respond, instead rushing to aid the others in restraining the kid. He hissed and screamed angrily; violently struggling against them. Another syringe pierced his throat, and he viciously twisted the wrist of the holder, breaking it. The nurse screamed in pain, and tried to jerk away. The kid growled and pulled her to him, and wrapped his fingers around her throat, cutting off the screams. The police forcefully pressed against him, trying to simultaneously pin him to the ground and pull his hand off the nurse's throat. It should've been simple, easy. They outnumbered the kid by far, and outweighed him too.

However, what should've been and what actually was were two vastly different things. The kid shrieked and writhed angrily, defiantly, despite the press of bodies, and despite the drugs that had been pumped in his system. Another syringe found its way into his neck, and this, combined with the sheer number of people, finally allowed the restraints to be placed tightly on him. He shrieked and roared angrily as he was tightly bound to a wheeled upright gurney.

"YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I NEED IT! DON'T LET THEM, YOU IDIOTS, DON'T LET THEM! I NEED IT!" the kid roared as he was wheeled out the door. Jiraiya breathed a huge sigh of relief after the kid was gone. He looked around to take stock of the situation.

Two boys dead. One doctor and one nurse as well. Several of his men were seriously wounded, as were some of the remaining doctors and nurses. The one doctor that had been bitten was in need of serious medical attention; thankfully they were surrounded by doctors that, while they weren't the traditional doctors that one would find in a traditional hospital, they did indeed know first aid. Sirens wailed and EMS crews poured in to take care of the wounded.

Jiraiya sighed and knelt down beside the bodies of the two boys, wondering how he was going to break the news to their families. The doctor that had yelled at him earlier came and sat with him.

"Look, officer, I know this is a bad time and all, but I can assure you that we'll send all the appropriate paperwork to your office as soon as we can."

"Thanks; that kid was so fucking strong."

"Nothing compares to the strength of the mad, and trust me, he is. Thoroughly, completely, and utterly insane. I wish I could tell you more, but doctor-patient confidentiality prevents me. Without a subpoena, I can't give you anything more."

"Yeah, I understand. C'mon, I've gotta write up a report for this, and the other officers do as well. God, the mayor is going to freak when she finds out. Give old Danzo my regards." The doctor nodded and left to deal with his own headache. Patient 313 was already proving to be among the deadliest that he had ever dealt with, and he hadn't even arrived at the institution yet.

Three Weeks Later

Hinata had a serious problem. She had broken up with her boyfriend and had moved to a different apartment without telling him. She had damn good reasons too. Sasuke was popular; everyone loved him and believed him to be a good guy. He was talented, had a very good job as a security consultant with a variety of banks and was fairly well off because of it. Her father had encouraged her to date him in the hopes of a successful union of the prestigious Hyuga family and the Uchiha family. He was always trying to run her life, trying to keep her in line with the family's history and tradition of greatness, and to have a member of the Uchiha family take such an interest in her had fit in with his vision for her nicely.

The problem was that no one saw him when he was drunk. He was arrogant and condescending when he was sober, but when he drank he was violent and cruel. The worst part was that no one believed her. Her father made it sound like it was somehow her fault, that she had driven him to drink and she should help him. Hiashi never really listened to her anyway. He had never abused her, not physically anyway, but he had always conveyed to her a sense of disappointment in her, which had only increased after her mother had up and left them when she was ten. Apparently Hiashi was just too cold for her to deal with, but Hinata didn't really know all of what happened.

All she knew was that a week after she had vanished a letter had shown up from the Land of Rice Patties stating that she was divorcing him and giving him custody of their two children. She had married a farmer down there, and wasn't coming back. Hinata hadn't heard from her since, and found it nicely ironic that she was in fact contemplating the same thing. She was planning to save up enough money to move to a different country and live there. The way Sasuke was, obsessive and possessive; it was probably the only way that she could find peace. The Uchiha family was well connected, even having the mayor's ear, and without the backing of her own family, the chances of her surviving were slim to none. Help wouldn't come until it was too late, and she had no interest in becoming another tragic story.

So this was why she found herself in an office of the Konoha Institution for the Criminally Insane, hoping for the job. People here made a lot of money, but the work wasn't easy, working with some of the most dangerous people in the country. Her father would be ashamed. A Hyuga should be employed in a respectful field, but not as a mere nurse. She didn't care; she had liked being a nurse at the Konoha Hospital, especially in the emergency room. She had felt like she was making a difference, and when she had moved up to the Psychiatric Ward, she had felt even better, especially with the children. It had felt so good to see them smile when she came in, knowing that she could brighten the day of a child suffering from a traumatic experience.

Of course, she had been forced to change her job when the Sasuke issue blew up in her face. Naruto wouldn't have ever treated her like that, but he had moved away their sophomore year in high school. She had gotten over it, but still missed her old friend from time to time. He had been an oblivious air-headed clown, but he had a good heart and was always cheerful. She sighed softly in the office, jerking when the door opened.

"Ah, you must be Miss Hinata, correct?" a burly man with brown hair and a beard greeted her, shaking her hand vigorously.

"Yes sir, I came in response to the ad-"

"Asuma, please, yes, the ad. Well, we reviewed your records and résumé and I must say that you are more than qualified, and we need all the help we can get, so the job's yours if you want it. You can decide after we've gone over a few things, this isn't your typical institution you know, these inmates are extremely dangerous. Let's take a tour, shall we?" he said as he guided her out the door.

The place was huge, consisting of two buildings, one of which was eight stories tall. This was the main institution. The other building was three stories, and was filled with apartments where the workers could spend the night if they needed. Everything was extremely white and sterile in appearance, but hey, it was a hospital; what did you expect?

The outside was full of large swaths of green grass, a few large trees, and sidewalks. A few of the less violent inmates were allowed out here to walk and exercise. It was an idyllic scene, provided that you overlooked the strange behavior of the inmates. Overlook, never ignore, the ones that you don't pay attention to are the ones that'll kill you.

One woman was walking around in a tiny circle, muttering about something. A man was conversing with a tree, and another was batting at the air, a strange, gleeful look in his eyes. Still others were pulling at nonexistent weeds and blowing bubbles, only to be mesmerized by the floating orbs. They were all wearing white shirts and white pants, with a bright yellow patch the size of her fist over the heart.

"As you can see, those are all ward A patients. Each patient has a color coded patch on their clothing. Yellow is for Ward A, blue for Ward B, red for Ward C, and black for Ward D. Ward A patients are the least violent, and are let out of their rooms with only moderate supervision at any time between eight A.M and eight P.M... You still have to watch yourself, but the threat isn't as intense as the others. Ward A consists of floors one through three. The first floor also has offices and rooms for therapy along with a gym that the patients can use as an extension of their therapy. Floors four through six consists of Ward B, the next group of patients. The B patients are more dangerous than the A patients, but are allowed out of their rooms with guides for exercise, therapy, and to walk around. They are in groups, and are never allowed to wander alone unsupervised. You do have to pay more attention to them, but the threat level is still not as intense as Ward C. Ward C takes up the last upper stories, and those patients are not allowed out of their rooms save for therapy and guided exercise regimens. Their meals are delivered directly to their rooms, and no objects that can be used as a weapon are allowed to them. Those guys are violent killers, each and every one of them, do not underestimate them."

"What about Ward D?"

"Ward D, yes, those are the two bottom floors of the basement, D3 and D4. Yes, we are aware that Basement floors are usually labeled with B's, and B1 and 2 are. But we like to give every warning we can that you are about to enter Ward D. The most dangerous offenders are there, the most violent, brutal killers. They are never allowed out of their rooms for any reason, when you're in there, be really careful, especially around patient three-thirteen. Ah, here's Sai, one of our physical therapists. I'll see you around then, Hinata, to show the other building to you." Asuma waved and walked away. She was approached by a slender man that was shockingly like Sasuke, but his features, the way he used them, were far too different, much to her relief. She couldn't deal with another Sasuke.

"So, you're the new nurse then, right? That's good, we need the help. Okay then, you've been cleared to work at all wards, including Ward D. Anybody go over security procedures with you? No? Well then, Pay attention, 'cuz that's the most dangerous ward, and ever since patient three-thirteen came in, even more weird shit's been happening. Shit that either will get you committed here or dead. Watch yourself down there."

"Alright then, you, like some of our other nurses, have long hair. Please make sure you pull it up in a secure fashion, such as a bun. A few nurses learned the hard way that long hair is very easy to grab, even in a ponytail. Even some of the A patients may attempt to grab it, because quite a few are obsessed with tactile sensations, and don't always equate the whole 'pulling hair is painful and bad' thing. Best to remove temptation. Also, please no dangling jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, belly button piercings and certain types of earrings. Again, too tempting to grab. Please always wear your nurse's uniform, which will be supplied to you. You can wear sweaters underneath it in the cold months, but no coats except for the nurse's lab coat, yet again, the whole grabby thing. Your lab coat will have pockets on the inside, to help prevent the grabby ones from stealing. You can wear a coat on the grounds, but as soon as you get in, please put it in the locker that we supply you with. Keep your purse in there as well.

"Prior to entering Ward C, you will undergo a basic security check, to prevent anything potentially harmful from ending up in our patients' hands. All syringes will be strictly counted, and the sharps box used to dispose of them will also be screened to make sure all are accounted for. The same thing will apply for Ward D, but it will be stepped up. Any and all objects listed on the sheet given to you will be cataloged, and you are expected to recount them after each and every interaction with the patients there, complete the log, and initial it with the time and date. The log will be turned in to the security staff when you exit, and there they will do a final count. Those guys will turn anything into a weapon, including paperclips, and are quite imaginative.

"Never turn your back on any patient, especially down there. Never let your guard down, and note any and all strange behavior, and turn it in to the security staff. Especially with patient three-thirteen."

"What's with that particular patient?"

"He was transferred from an institution in Suna. He has over seventy-five kills on record, with very few complete, un-mutilated bodies. No name, no address, no family. His age is judged to be in his late teens to early twenties. On his way here he escaped, killing two nurses and the driver. He made his way to a supermarket, killed two boys, and when the authorities and we arrived, he killed one of our doctors and a nurse, and seriously injured many more. He is restrained at night, and we have to drug him and gas him in order to do it. He is held back by an attached metal leash around his waist at all times, which will keep him, hopefully, from reaching the door. During the rounds, he is also gassed and restrained, for your safety. Despite all of our precautions, he has still managed to kill three nurses, two doctors, and seriously injure fifteen more. You can see why we need the help; he's been running our nurses off. Do _not _underestimate him, _ever._ He will kill you." His voice was dead serious, and she nodded numbly.

"Okay then, moving on. The smaller secondary building is sort of like a miniature apartment complex for the employees. Each one has a private room complete with a half kitchen. They have a fridge and a freezer, bed, shower, cupboards and a toilet. The rooms are strictly one roomed, and small, but they are free of charge and can be used as the employees see fit without any penalty charges on the paycheck. There is a large basement with a pool, gym, and cafeteria for the employees. All meals here, due to many of the patients' mental state, are completely vegan, and all dairy products are made with soy milk. You can bring your own meat and milk in, but we recommend that you don't do that until at least after eight at night so none of the patients see you. Some have serious issues with meat, like, well, three-thirteen.

"The buildings each have their own miniature hospital service, to minimize security risks. The last patient sent out for medical care sexually assaulted her doctor before jumping off the building, thinking she could fly. We'd rather not repeat the scenario if at all possible, especially since some of the other inmates can get real…creative.

"Another security precaution we have is a strict no visitors policy. That means that employees here can't bring in any of their friends and family here, and wards D and C may not receive contact from their own friends and family. It's for the best, since most of those patients will probably seriously hurt if not kill them. Wards B and A can receive short visitations in a secluded space in the main building under strict supervision. The patients often have so much going on in their heads that the visits don't always help, especially from family. Either the family was ignorant and exacerbated the problems or was the root cause of it. That's not always the case, but the vast majority fall into those categories. I hate to say it, but most of the patients here are pretty much abandoned by their families here anyway." Hinata nodded in agreement. She understood the situation completely in that regard; she had seen firsthand how some families behaved around an abused child. Some really stepped up to the plate, but far too many simply buried their heads in the sand and ignored the problem.

"Well, what do you think? Think you can stay on?" Sai asked hopefully. Hinata nodded. Sai beamed.

"Great! Let's get you to the office to finalize everything! Asuma's gonna be ecstatic!" Hinata smiled happily.

"Okay, we'll get your gear and start you off on ward A, just until you get the feel of things…"

He knew that it wanted him. It wanted him, it wanted them all. He had heard it down in the dark, whispering in his head. That was why he had been so good as to get transferred to C, as far from him as he could get. Now he had to be bad enough to avoid another transfer to less security, but good enough to avoid the dark. It was waiting for him in the dark; it wanted him and the others to _do_ things. Terrible things.

The man restlessly brushed his blond hair away from his face, only to have it fall back again. It wasn't that he was squeamish, indeed, he loved his art, helping his partners find that brief state of perfection and beauty before becoming nothing, but what it wanted was _hideous,_ and it kept _showing_ him things, ugly things, foul things. No. he wouldn't go back down to the dark. He would stay up here, as far away as he could from it. Never go back down in the dark, never _never_ _**never**_ _**nevernevernevernever**__… _


	2. Chapter 2

Title is from the soundtrack for the movie Queen of the Damned, which had a fairly large number of artists and bands that worked on it. Disturbed sang it, though.

Forsaken

This wasn't so bad thus far. The patients from ward A were generally very cooperative when it came to taking their medicine. She had even met a few past acquaintances, like Hiroko, a girl of sixteen she had treated in the emergency room just over a year ago. She had tried to commit suicide; ripping both her wrists open first with a knife, then her teeth. She had barely made it.

It was Hinata who had noticed the bruises on her arms, then her thighs. Noticed, and had called the police. The poor girl had been raped by her brother repeatedly over the past two years, and couldn't take it anymore. Her brother had gone to prison, and she had ended up here because of her violence towards men. The dark haired girl had smiled at her, remembering the nurse who had been there for her, green eyes flashing.

"Good to see you, Hinata, good to see you. Working here now? I'm glad, you understand better than the others. You know that all men are the same; they're all out to get you, to hurt you. You know that all they want is for you to hurt, because your pain makes them happy. You see that. In a way, I'm glad I'm here. He's gone and can't get me, and I can keep the others away from me and not get yelled at. Did you know that it's a rule just for me? No evil man is allowed near me, only girls. I can't ever be released, and I'm okay with that. Let me have my pills, and then I'll go to lunch. Thank you Hinata, I'll see you soon." They girl took her pills and walked off to the cafeteria, Hinata gazing after her. At least she wasn't rocking on a bench or bed anymore, muttering to herself. She was actually talking, much improved from the last time she saw her. Her physical wounds had healed cleanly, but there were still thick, ropey scars on her lower arms from her ordeals.

Hinata continued outside on her rounds, which for now just entailed going from patient to patient with basic medication and vitamins out in the courtyard, and carefully recording their numbers and names on her log sheets. The names and numbers were neatly stitched in black thread under their letter patch, and they each had a medical bracelet in green on their right wrists to boot, so it was an easy enough task. After her break she would get to work with another nurse to do the B's.

_ He could practically __**smell **__the prey-enemies moving above him, just like he could almost __**taste **__their blood and flesh. Oh how he hungered, how he __**needed**__ to feast on them, make them suffer, make them __**pay **__for imprisoning him here under the ground. Soon, a prey-enemy would come in to try and take from him, to force their vile chemicals on him. They would poison the air first, and then try to take and take and take. Not so easy, though. He had a surprise for it when it came. _

_ Soon enough, he could smell the gas, feel the heaviness it gave his limbs. He snarled and gnashed his teeth as the chain pulled taut, forcing him against the wall. He growled as the prey-enemies that came in forced his limbs to be belted to a lock above his head; his legs individually secured to the wall as well. He hissed and tried to bite when they put a mask over his face to stop him from biting before securing his neck to the wall as well. Then they left, leaving one female prey-enemy to take from him._

_ Not so easy, they may have him in a strait jacket, they may have his hands fastened, but he had had a long time to work on that evil lock, when the prey-enemy approached close enough, he gave a sudden jerk and snapped the mechanism inside, bringing his hands down and fastening them around her neck, squeezing, squeezing. Squeezing as the others rushed back in. squeezing as her pretty blue eyes bulged out. Squeezing as her face turned blue-violet, contrasting prettily with her auburn hair. Squeezing until her tongue protruded from her mouth, almost black and so very wet. Squeezing until the pulse no longer beat in her throat, and hissing in rage as they finally jerked the dead prey-enemy from him. He hadn't even gotten to feed, just like all the other times. Not even a taste. He raged and raged, roaring and screaming as the prey-enemies cheated him of his prize once again._

Hinata started as nurses and doctors darted past her, making a mad dash for the elevators. She snagged one as he darted past.

"H-hey, what's going on?" she asked softly, mindful of the surrounding patients from ward A.

"Patient Three-thirteen broke his hand restraints and strangled a nurse. It doesn't sound like she's gonna make it." Hinata's eyes widened in shock; how could anyone be so strong as to break their restraints?

"You stay here, Hinata, and keep doing your rounds, otherwise some of the other patients might freak out. To about thirty percent of them, routine is everything, and I don't need thirty percent of our inmates rioting on top of Three-thirteen's murderous antics," Asuma told her as he headed down. They needed all the muscle they could get with that monster.

"Don't worry, I'll help you out." She turned around to see Sai smiling at her. They walked around, finishing off the patients from ward A and moving on to the B's, which were in special groupings adhering to a strict schedule.

"Sorry, Hinata, but Sanya was called down to assist with the incident, so I'll be showing you B instead. I hope you understand."

"Of course Sai, how could I not understand? I just hope everyone's okay." Sai's eyes dimmed a bit.

"Me too, but whenever there is a response like that, it means that the shit hit the fan, let alone whenever HE's involved." Hinata's eyes widened.

"Sorry to break it to you, but I think that he must've killed someone again."

Danzo sighed in resignation as he read the report. That bastard had gotten violent and had killed yet again, despite the drugs and the restraints. Cases like him made him curse the fact that lobotomies were now illegal in this country, which was ridiculous. In hopeless cases like him they would be particularly useful and would guarantee the safety of his staff. Or perhaps not, considering that they would have to physically sedate him and transport him to the medical ward. Too many opportunities for him to escape. That must never happen, ever, or everything, all of his work, would come crashing down around him.

Danzo turned from his desk to his office window to peer out of it, surveying his courtyard full of his patients from ward A that were roaming around, chasing imaginary butterflies and playing with bubbles. At least they were easy enough to manage, unlike that monstrosity under the ground. He hoped fervently that he stayed there. Unlike most people, he knew that there were monsters out there, real monsters, and that thing in the basement was one of them.

Danzo sighed as he prepared a report of his own to send to the local law enforcement agencies. It was going to be a long night.

Hinata was sitting across from Sai in the employee cafeteria. No bones about it, everything was strictly vegan, not even the milk and yogurt were made with dairy products, no, soy milk was the closest thing you could get. It was weird, she thought as she sipped it experimentally. Not gross or unpleasant, just weird, and it didn't really take the place of real milk, at least in her opinion. Still, not bad. The vegetable soup was actually pretty good, and the fruit was decent quality. They had a beastly salad bar, with most of the trimmings, with non-dairy cheese and non-dairy dressings, nuts, different types of greens, raw vegetables, even tofu eggs and tofu ham. The tofu was sort of icky to her, but she did enjoy throwing some mandarin oranges on her salad with a nice berry vinaigrette. The fresh spinach was very good, as was the kale, and the sprouts were still crispy and juicy.

The cafeteria was very generic, much like the cafeteria for the patients. The floor was basic white linoleum, the walls were white, and it was very, very clean. The only difference was the fact that the employees had separate small round tables and was mostly buffet style, whereas the other one had long rectangular tables and the food was distributed by employees to the inmates. Other than that, they were practically interchangeable.

"So anyway, the B's are usually not so bad, as long as they're with their guides. There's a few here and there that are uncooperative, but not bad. Your list of patients will have the troublemakers highlighted. A week or so on the A's and B's, then you'll eventually do C's and D's. Here you go." He passed over a folder to her, plain blue, with a neat label on it, reading: Ward B, Groups 9 – 16. She took it and slid it to the right of her tray. Sai spooned up a mouthful of soup while she nibbled on her salad. Personally, she thought that the job was going well so far. Even with three-thirteen's actions. How on Earth had he been able to break the restraints like that? He must have some serious strength to do something like that!

Okay, so there was ONE patient she wasn't looking forward to working with, but that wouldn't be for a while yet anyway. Not too bad yet. Sai was a big help.

"You know, you handle the patients really well, you've got this ability to exude a calm presence. That's really good; I think you may be able to handle the C's and D's in time. Not now of course, but in the future."

"Thanks!" Hinata smiled happily, and they continued to eat.

Dark. So dark. Whispers in the dark. They left him in the dark. Not good to be in the dark, because _he _was in the dark too, whispering, whispering. Always whispering. Telling him things, showing him things. Things in the dark. And they put him inside of him with their needles. Oh, they all said that it was only vitamins, but he knew better. They put him inside, put the dark inside. It itched and burned, writhed under his skin, felt like ants crawling under his skin. Had to get them out, had to, had to, had to! Had to get them out before they reached his brain! No telling what they would do when they got there, what they would make him do. Had to get them out.

His hands were restrained, but his head wasn't. Good, he could still get them out. He turned his head and began to chew. So good, so sweet. Red, liquid candy. Get them out before they got too far. Yes, get them out. Pain means nothing, have to get them out. So good, so sweet. Alarms sounded, but they meant nothing more than to hurry. Nothing more but to hurry. White ghosts burst in, trying to get him to stop, no, no, NO! Can't stop, or they'll get in his head! Can't stop, can't, can't, can't! He looked up at his reflection in the ghost's mirror-eyes, and he screamed. He was too late.


	3. Chapter 3

Song by Korn. Urusai means noisy, loud, and fussy.

Chapter Three

Blind

Man, these groceries were getting a little pricy; she'll have to remember to clip more coupons. Good thing she didn't eat a ton, and that cafeteria was a big help. Oh, good, the oatmeal was on sale two for one! Score! Hinata snagged two boxes, one assorted, and one cinnamon roll flavored and put them in her cart. She puttered around the store, taking her time as she shopped.

Chicken was on sale too, so that would be dinner. She still had rice, carrots and celery, so maybe a stir-fry? Hanabi was coming over, so better make enough for two. Silly little thing would eat almost anything, but couldn't cook to save her life.

She checked out and scuttled out to her car, trying to beat the rain. The sky overhead was growling ominously, and a seething mass of grey storm clouds was threatening to pour any second. Her car wasn't the best at rain. In fact, her car wasn't the best at anything. It was a much abused 1998 Toyota Camry. She had gotten it for cheap, and it was little more than a grocery getter. She didn't dare push it past sixty-five on the highway, and it had started to get a nasty little rattle coming from the engine. Her brakes squeaked and shrieked, the headlights were a little dim, the paint was a dingy blue color, scratches along the sides, dents on the hood and rear. But it was her car, and it got her from point A to point B without too much trouble.

The interior was a bland greyish color, with stains and thin spots. It was clean though, and she was a good driver, not an accident on her record. Okay, so she hit the mailbox when she was sixteen, but that didn't really count…did it? Well, it was the only one, anyway.

She pulled out and puttered to her apartment. It was small, a one-room with the kitchen and dining room fused to the living room. A bathroom was next to her room. The walls were thin, but she didn't have too many problems with her neighbors, thankfully. The walls were white, the carpet beige. She had a coffee table that was a medium brown, fake wood grain, a purple futon, a small round kitchen table that matched her coffee table…sort of, two purple chairs, and a dresser. Her small computer and TV sat on the kitchen counter and dresser, respectively. Urusai sat in the corner in his big cage. He was an African Grey Parrot, inherited from her late great aunt. He lived up to his name, and was her best friend.

"Hello, hello, want out, want out, hello!"

"Hello to you too, pretty boy, just a second." She sat her groceries on the counter and went over to him. She got him out and sat him on top of his cage. She gently pet him on his tummy.

"Gonna get your belly, gonna get your belly!"

"That's right, I'm gonna get your belly! Good boy, what a smart bird!" she cooed at him while giving him a treat.

"Num num!" he squawked as he gripped it in one foot while chewing on it happily. He whistled and chirped as she heated oil in her skillet. All of her pots and pans were simple, and non-coated, since nonstick ones released toxic gases. Birds were very sensitive to such things. Urusai stayed on his cage, having been trained to stay there until Hinata got him. Well, his toys were all there too, as was his treat dish. He was a good boy, and exceedingly clever. He picked up new words and whistles quickly. While she chopped her vegetables, he whistled and chattered in the background.

Just as she began to head over to the table she heard a knock at her door. Hanabi bounced in with that energy that she had whenever they were away from their father. While Hinata had on jeans and a simple blue blouse, her sister preferred a funky skirt combo. It was yellow, green, and orange, with sequins winking and flashing with her every move. The blouse was orange, and also sequined, as were her wedge-shaped open-toed shoes.

"So, what does Father say about the new outfit?"

"He hates it! It's great! He's all like 'a proper Hyuga doesn't go out in such undignified clothing,' I'm having a blast! I did an extra twirl just for him!" Hanabi demonstrated, sending wheels of light spinning around the room. Hinata laughed. Her sister loved poking at their father, it was her favorite pastime. They all had their way of dealing with Hiashi, Hinata used distance and was passively going about her life as best she could, Hanabi did everything in her power to annoy him, and Neji helped his cousins along with their efforts while distracting Hiashi from them as best he could.

Hanabi was studying to be a lawyer, and was making the grades. Hiashi approved of that, but Hinata wondered what he would say when her sister told him that she was going to work for the Konoha Humane Society. He probably had several high-class law firms in mind.

Neji worked in computers, particularly with computer security. He was also as inept at cooking as Hanabi; his fridge stuffed with takeout and microwave meals while his cupboards were filled with canned goods. Come to think of it, Hinata was pretty sure that she was the only one who could cook in the family.

"So, did you get the job?" Hinata nodded with a smile. Hanabi beamed.

"That's good, I was hoping you would. All the same, you be careful in there, I've heard all kinds of stories from that place. Don't worry, Neji and I haven't spilled the beans to Father or talked to Sasuke. As far as we know, they haven't got a clue. Can't believe he took his side, I saw those damn bruises, he is such a douchebag, I swear to God…" Hanabi trailed off as she went over to Urusai, hoping that he would let her pet him. He could be a real ass if he wanted, and he obviously was Hinata's bird; that was why she inherited him, while Hanabi got the necklace. Hanabi preferred it that way, because everyone was happy. Even the bird. Hanabi had personally thought it hilarious that Urusai had never, not even once, let Sasuke pet him. Nope, that bird had bitten him more times than she could count; he had even had to get stitches once.

Urusai was in a good mood today, and let her stroke his tummy; and Hanabi beamed.

"Gonna get your belly, gonna get your belly!"

"Hey, that's new, you just teach him that?"

"Yeah, he learns fast. I'm going to try to teach him animal sounds next. That bust a move trick is pretty cute, have you seen that yet?"

"No, what's that?"

"He dances around with me, especially if there's music. He even announces it to the world." Hinata turned on her CD player and stuck in an Evanescence CD.

"Don't just stand there, bust a move!" Urusai chirped as he began to bob up and down, rapidly shuffling around the top of his cage-perch in circles. Hanabi giggled and clapped her hands. He finished his dance with a full body shake that started at his head and ended with his tail whipping back and forth. Hinata gave him another treat, telling him that he was a good bird all the while. Hinata finished up dinner and served, sitting next to Hanabi for a chat.

"So, after you get yourself all set up, will you find a way to let Neji and I know where you are? We won't tell, you know that, right?'

"Yeah, I will. It may take me a while, but I will, promise." Hanabi smiled happily. Her big sister and Neji were her real family, they had united themselves against the crap from their family, and she was determined to stay that way, even from a distance.

The next day Hinata was stopped by Sai and Asuma. They both looked grim.

"What happened?"

"Hinata, unfortunately, we need to step up your training. The shortage of nurses is hitting us hard. We need you to help Sai in the hospital portion, to change patient two-twelve's bandages. Sai, if you would tell her about him that would be great. You two be careful, he's a D, and he likes to spit. Make sure he has a face mask. I have to go help get a new inmate settled. There's a few more that need attention in there too, but they're mostly B's. Take care." Asuma strode off, leaving them both together.

"Well, I'll fill you in then. Patient two-twelve has no known identity, having been admitted from the street. He's a violent sex offender, so you never ever work with him alone. We believe that a combination of childhood abuse and long-term drug use is the reason for his condition. He spits, bites, and will throw various body fluids at you. He is currently restrained at the moment, but he's awake. Something happened down there, we're just not sure what."

"What do you mean?"

"I've worked with him for the past two years, and he's been in here for seven. Never, not once, has he ever shown any sign of self-mutilation or suicide tendencies. But last night he damn near chewed his arm off. There's more to this story than we know. You don't just start chewing off your arm for no reason, but that's what essentially happened."

"He tried to _chew of his arm_?" Sai nodded.

"Yeah, and he's been screaming about the dark, ants, and _him_ ever since."

"Him? Him who?"

"No idea. My guess is that one of the inmates down there is stirring things up. I put in a request to check the ventilation system, make sure that sounds can't travel. It could also be a reaction to his new medication, but my gut says that something is going on down there." They walked through the door into his temporary room. Patient 212 was up and straining against his restraints.

"No, nonono, don't make me sleep, nonono! He's there; he says things, nonono, please nononono! The dark will get me, the dark, the dark!" his brown eyes were wild and bloodshot, his skin a sickly pale from blood loss and being cooped up in his cell. He was six-three, and had a gauntness that suggested a large man losing a lot of weight too fast. He whimpered and whined like an animal.

"Easy, big guy, easy does it. We just need to check your arm." Sai said soothingly, motioning Hinata over to the bandaged right arm, which was seeping. The bandages wrapped from just below his shoulder to about halfway to his elbow.

"Get them out, get them out, they're crawling! Get them out! No! No drugs, the dark will get me, no please!" Sai carefully added a tranquilizer to his IV.

"No! He'll get us! He's going to kill us all! NO!" he tore his injured arm from the restraints and grabbed Hinata, jerking her face down to his. Sai reacted, trying to pull them apart to no avail.

"Don't go down into the dark…" his voice slurred as the drugs rapidly overcame him. Hinata tugged herself free and re-attached the restraint, then looked up at Sai. He was right, something was wrong with this one. Such fear didn't just come out of nowhere.

The man paced ran up to the tiny vent to whisper in it.

"One-ninety-three, it got another one! See, I told you!"

"Shut it, two-eighty-six, you know damn well that two-twelve was nuts-"

"You shut it, we're all nuts! Who are you to talk?" He brushed his blond hair from his face, only to have it fall in it again. He heard a grunt from the other cell.

"And anyway, what would you know? You've never been down there; you don't know what happens down there! That's why I've been good, to get up here, far away from there. Don't you go down there; you stay away from the dark!"

"Yeah, well, I'm not scared, not scared at all."

"Yes you are, just like me!"

"Shut up, fire-freak, you-"

"It's only a matter of time. It'll get out eventually. Soon maybe. But if we're up here, it might forget about us. Maybe."

"You're nuts!" he giggled.

"We're all nuts!" he giggled back.

"There isn't anything down there…is there?"

"There is, I told you there is. It wanted me to do things, wanted to hurt me. It's evil, and it's real. But it won't get us if we're up here!" the man paced some more. He wished he could be sure that it wouldn't find them…


	4. Chapter 4

Song by Ozzy. Forgot to include spacers last time, even though I wrote myself a freaking note. That's what I get for typing late at night and just using spell-check. Sorry about that.

Chapter Four

Let Me Hear You Scream

Hinata sighed as she left the institution for the night, ready to go home. It had been a couple of weeks since the incident with Patient 212, although he hadn't been the only one winding up in the medical ward. Two more D's had wound up there, one from A and one from B with minor injuries. No one from C as of yet, but she was beginning to feel as if it were only a matter of time.

Normally it wouldn't have bothered her so much, but they were all ranting about some variation "it" or "him" and they were all imploring everyone not to send them back to the dark. 212 had begged her not to go down there as well, he had been begging everyone not to go down there. While his injuries were healing okay, his mental state was deteriorating swiftly, making him a threat to everyone around him. Well, a greater threat anyway.

It was getting downright creepy, and she wondered if a full moon was coming or something. Sai had said that the moon did play a role and that the last full moon had seen a riot in Wards D and B. It would explain quite a bit.

Oh well, she was heading home now, to Urusai. He would cheer her up; he always did with his antics. She was pretty sure that she had enough in her fridge to scrounge up some dinner for them both. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would be full of energy and eager to play. Perhaps they could work on more animal sounds tonight.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts that she wasn't even aware that she was being watched from afar; by a tallish man in black. He stood under a tree and snapped a few pictures of her before turning around and walking away. Hinata got into her crap car and drove off, eager to get home.

Ward D

"Patient three-thirteen is proving to be uncooperative again," The blond nurse said to Asuma as she left his cell, locking it tightly on his screams of rage. She plucked at the threads of her white sleeve. The son of a bitch had almost got her, and she had been forced to leave without blood samples or even giving him his injections. Tranqued her ass, that had been close; his damn nails had caught the fabric and had ripped a small hole in it!

"Yeah, well, what else is new?" Asuma gave the door a glare; and looked around as other patients in their cells added their voices to his, making the entire ward echo with the screams. Creepy, it was almost as if his madness was fueling theirs. Thank God they were all secure.

"We need a new nurse in there with him. An unknown may elicit more cooperation and better behavior."

"She's not ready yet. Sai is training her, and they will begin to work in Ward C by the end of the week. She's coming along nicely and is a quick study."

"She will begin Ward C tomorrow. If she's such a quick study she will catch on."

"Now, hold up-"

"Sai can continue to work with her, but I want her down here by the end of the week. By the end of two weeks she needs to handle them alone. Patient three-thirteen must be brought to heel, and quickly!"

"You want her to go in there with him too soon! Even in his current state he can easily overpower her, and if he gets loose-"

"It's a chance we have to take. The new drugs show promise, but they can't do the job if we can't get them in his body! A new face may be just the ticket!"

"He strangled the last new face, remember?"

"We have not choice; Danzo himself had taken a personal interest in this matter, and it will be all of our asses if we can't deliver results!" Asuma sighed softly, and then nodded.

"I'll go inform Sai."

"You do that." She said as Three-thirteen's roars and screams continued, coaxing everyone else down there to join him. Fucking full moon, how the hell did these loons even know about it? They were underground! She shivered slightly. She had the distinct feeling that things were only going to get worse.

Ward C

"See, see? I TOLD you that it'd get them! Look at how many are in the medical ward already! See?" Patient 286 exclaimed to 193's cell vent.

"Oh shut up, you nutcase, you don't know shit!" 193 had been sleeping, and wasn't pleased at being woken up so late. 286 brushed his blond hair from his face, only to have it fall back to where it had been.

"I do too know shit! I know my shit better than you know your shit! Besides, it's not just me, Four-twelve told me all about it, saw a bunch of stuff go down, she did!"

"You can't listen to her, she's nuts! She don't know shit either!"

"You're nuts! She saw-"

"Nobody sees nuthin' up here, you know that! We can't leave our cells! We're in C, dumbshit!"

"She saw the nurses running downstairs, and heard them talking about it! Surely you look through that little door window sometimes!"

"Ooh, someone's in trouble then, because they're not supposed to do that! Get us all riled up like that!" he cackled in his cell. A woman's voice floated through the other vent in 286's room.

"They were saying something about someone from B trying to slit his throat during therapy. He smuggled a piece of plastic from lunch and sharpened it. Said that the dream-beast told him to."

"See One-ninety-three, I told you that shit was happening!"

"Shut it, you nutcase! There's no way that someone from D can make someone in B do something like that! Quit encouraging him, Four-twelve!" a giggle was all he got in response, and he grumbled from the other room.

"We're all nuts, or we wouldn't be here!" 286 cackled along with 412. 193 joined in; the new drugs making him loopier than usual. 286's giggles turned into sobs. He hoped that it couldn't get him up here.

Ward A

Hiroko shifted restlessly in her bed as the woman in the bed across from her moaned and rolled back and forth. She'd been doing it for hours. Ever since the lights had been turned off, really, and she didn't have a clue why. She'd been acting funnier than usual for the past two days, and Hiroko had seen one of the nurses put a flag on her daily sheet. Get too many of those and you were bumped to a different ward. The lady had better get her shit together if she wanted to stay here. Ward A's may sleep together in large rooms with beds lined up together, but at least they could wander the grounds and such. B wasn't so bad, but if you got to C they locked you up. If you got to D you may never see daylight again.

She heard that the men's wing in Ward A had had a few problems last night. Hah, typical men, always causing problems! Too stupid to do as they're told! Not like her; oh no, she took her medicine and went to her therapy and caused no problems. Stupid men.

She rolled over to her other side as the woman mewled like a newborn. She'd been acting funny for a few days now; said she had a headache and that she thought she saw things moving in the dark. Hiroko shuddered; she didn't want to think of things moving in the dark.

She opened her eyes to see Chelsea's pale blue ones staring at her in the dark. The young girl was only twelve; having ended up here due to trauma from her grandfather trying to kill her for some reason. He'd ended up committed too, in Ward C, but he had died a few months ago due to heart failure. The girls had ended up in the same therapy group and were neighbors when it came to their beds. Good thing that she had Hiroko, you never knew when some dirty man would try to hurt her.

They laid there in silence until a hair-raising cry emerged from the woman. They jerked in fear, and looked over to her. She was raised up in her bed, and her torso was rippling, and wet squishy sounds were coming from her as she screamed and thrashed. Nurses came rushing in the darkness to pull the woman away, to the medical ward. The rest of the patients were all screaming and crying, and Chelsea had darted into Hiroko's bed, crying softly. Hiroko held her tightly, rubbing her back. The nurses shoed everyone to bed, calming them and saying that patient 578 had had a seizure and that she was going to be cared for. Hiroko and Chelsea looked at each other as the lights went out again. Chelsea slipped back out of bed and climbed in next to Hiroko. Neither wanted to sleep alone after that.

Cafeteria

Hinata was sorry that she had overslept and had been forced to skip breakfast. Urusai had gotten his, but not her. Fortunately, they had bagels and jelly here, and she swiftly wolfed one down as Sai approached her holding a half-eaten apple and some files in red folders.

"You missed breakfast too? Okay, let's eat together then. We need to go over these anyways. You're getting bumped up to C today. I'll be with you, so let's go over the patients today."

"Ward C already?" Sai nodded.

"Yup, trying to get you trained up for D, and Three-thirteen, I guess. Something about the possibility of him behaving for a new face. Not quite sure where they got that one, but hey, Danzo's the boss and all. Asuma told me about it, came from Nurse Chicken-shit herself."

"N-nurse what?" she looked taken aback by his title.

"Eh, that's just what Asuma and I call her. Three-thirteen's got her all wigged out. Guess he almost got her yesterday. She's convinced that he's out to get her or something, but really, he's out to get everyone, so…" he shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not the first time she's freaked out by that Ward either. I personally think that if she'd just pay more attention to the patients she'd be able to read them better. That's just common sense.

"Anyway, first up is Patient Two-eighty-six. His name is Deidara, and he's a recent transfer from Ward D, so use extra caution. He's a pyromaniac who used to burn people alive and blow up buildings. He called it art. Lately has become afraid of the dark and believes that something is after him, so you can add paranoia to the list. Doesn't like to take his meds, but will eat his food after close scrutiny.

"Patient One-ninety-three is Zaku. To put it simply he hears voices and has very violent and disturbing dreams. His paranoia led him to murder his own family and live on the streets for a while. The medication seems to be working to an extent, but he's still too violent to let out of C just yet. Keep a tranq handy with him; you never know when he'll try something.

"Patient Four-twelve is a girl called Kin. She also hears voices, but is usually not so bad to deal with. She's paranoid about everything, though, and is convinced that there's some sort of conspiracy going on here. She and Deidara are feeding off each other right now in that boat, but so far it hasn't caused any harm. Zaku is convinced that they're all crazy." Hinata choked on her bagel at that.

Ward D

_The prey-enemies were trying to do something new. Taking from him; and then trying to put some new poison in him. To make him "behave." He'll show them all as soon as he got out. He'd take that blond prey-enemy and rip her open, and lap up the blood from her open wounds. He'd make her bleed from her eyes, and feast on her flesh. The big one too, he supposed, but the blond would be better. She screamed so prettily and was slow, so slow that he almost got her. Almost, but not quite. When he got out he would hunt her down and rip her to pieces._

_ He'd rip them all to pieces, and suck the blood from their warm corpses. Crack the bones open to get the sweet, sweet candy within. Delicious red candy, so much better than the swill that they tried to force on him here. He'd get them, get them all. No one would escape. No one._


	5. Chapter 5

From Evanescence

Chapter Five

Lose Control

Hinata and Sai were in the cafeteria loading up two carts with trays of food for the inmates in Ward C. Sai was continuing to go over the inmates that they were dealing with that day. Hinata listened attentively and looked at the files; trying to commit them all to memory. There were so many!

"Okay, Patient One-eleven is Orochimaru. He's a mad scientist who performed human experiments in a sick attempt to perfect the human form. He is also a sexual predator and has an obsession with snakes. His obsession runs very deep, to the point that he tried to turn several subjects into human snakes. It ended badly; the venom glands that he implanted in the roof of the mouths burst and leaked into the brain and other surrounding tissues, causing swift, yet extremely painful death in the subjects. He also tried to shorten ribcages and elongate the spine, and to stitch together the legs. He had actually peeled the flesh back from both legs and had sutured the muscles together before replacing the skin and sewing it back in place.

"I'm telling you all of this so you can think about it when you deal with him. He is a master manipulator, and will try to get into your head. Don't tell him anything personal; in fact don't talk to him more than strictly necessary. He'll use whatever he can to get to you. Some of the inmates here are former test-subjects of his, such as Patient One-ninety-three. He had promised Zaku that he would make the nightmares and voices go away when he found him on the street, but he only made things worse. Orochimaru fed on his fears and used them to exact his will.

"Patient One-fifteen is another one of his former test subjects. He got him when he was very young and as such he is completely loyal to him. It is for this sole reason that he is in here instead of with the B's or A's, we can't seem to break that bond. The drugs that were used on him have left his mind unstable in that he often hallucinates, but some of the new drug therapies seem to be working. He can be aggressive where Orochimaru is concerned, so don't bring him up when Kimimaro, that's the name of Patient One-fifteen, is around.

"Patient One-fifty-six is Kabuto. He was Orochimaru's assistant, also captured at a young age. He's delusional, and actually believes that his mentor was creating a superior race through his experiments. He's a sneaky one too, very manipulative. He may not be as good as his mentor, but that doesn't mean that he is incapable. Follow the same safety precautions as One-eleven.

"Patient Two-eighty-six, that's Deidara, doesn't have any known tie to Orochimaru, and neither does Kin, who's Patient Four-twelve. Still, be careful around them too; especially Deidara, he's a former D and likes to light people on fire before blowing them up."

"So I guess that he isn't allowed to attend Burning Man?" she said with a light smile.

"What? Ah, um, no. I'm pretty sure that he'd shove dynamite in the stick man or something. You know; artistic expression. He does consider himself an artist after all," Sai said, shaking his head with a smile. All that scary stuff and she could still crack a joke; she had more guts than Chicken-shit. He hoped that she'd be able to handle Three-thirteen when the time came.

They rolled their carts into an elevator and went up to Ward C. Ward C was composed of the last two upper stories of the building, with seventy-five cells in each floor. Both the stairs and the elevator occupied the same section of the building; in fact their doors were right next to each other. Just across the hall from them were five security guards, each armed with a Taser, stun gun, and mace. The doorway was something right out of a prison; sturdy steel bars made up the frame and door, with an electronic and manual lock. Their uniforms were black pants and a white dress shirt. Riot gear was located on a metal table behind them.

One guard stepped over to them and gave the routine examination of their cart and had them fill out the necessary paperwork before waving them through. Hinata took a deep breath. This was it, Ward C.

Sai knocked on Patient 193's door before unlocking it. Zaku glared at him; he had been sleeping and wasn't thrilled to be awake.

"You're a jackass! I was sleeping! Hey, who's the chick? You didn't say anything about a chick!" The cell was a plain white brick walls and a white tile floor. The bed was against the wall that was to the left, a simple, sturdy metal desk and chair that was bolted to the floor and a toilet was next to it. The small window above the desk had bars over it; just beyond the bars was the glass itself, which was open today to let in a small puff of air. Instead of a crank, there was a button under the window that could be pushed to trigger the electric motor. Zaku matched the décor in the white outfit that all patients wore with a red C on the left side of his patch and his number in black underneath it. He had his arms crossed and an angry scowl on his face.

"Good afternoon Zaku, this is a new nurse. She is going to be filling in from time to time as needed. I need your arm, please."

"Yeah, fuck you. You just wanna get that pheromone solution in me to control my brain, yeah, that ain't gonna happen! Gimme my lunch, asshole!" he had an angry scowl and his arms were cross. Sai just looked at him with that patient smile.

"You know that you don't get your lunch until after you've had your medication, Zaku."

"You're such an asshole, fine, but she does it! If someone's gonna control my mind, it might as well be someone pretty." He went over and sat at his desk, arm out. A voice drifted through the ventilation system on the right.

"Shut up and take your meds you crazy bitch!"

"FUCK YOU TWO EIGHTY-SIX, I'M TAKING THEM! AND YOU'RE THE CRAZY BITCH!"

"Nah, that'd be me!" a woman's voice answered faintly. The man next door giggled uncontrollably. Zaku looked over at Hinata.

"You see what I gotta deal with? They're nuts! Two Eighty-six thinks that there's a monster underground that's trying to get him!" Sai stiffened a little at that. A monster under the ground? As far as he knew, Deidara had had no contact with 313, they hadn't even been neighbors. So what was going on? He knew that he had become frightened of the dark lately and had thought that something was after him, but a monster under the ground? What the hell was going on?

Hinata gently took Zaku's arm and swabbed it before slipping the needle of a syringe into his vein.

"HEY!" Zaku whipped his head around and stared at her. She cautiously eased back.

"You're good," he said in a hushed whisper. He jumped up and went over to the vent.

"Hey Two Eighty-six! She's good! Didn't feel nothin'!"

"That's what you're boyfriend said!"

"What? I like women! Especially with big boobs!"

"You're a boob!"

"You-what, what? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Zaku, you need to take the rest of your meds." Sai put a little paper cup in his hand with four pills in it. Zaku scowled and shoved them in his mouth, dry swallowing them. Hinata brought over his food and set it on his desk. Zaku snatched up the sandwich and took a huge bite out of it.

"Aw, c'mon, it's tofu! Can't you guys just once use chicken or somethin'?" he complained as he continued to eat it. He moved on to the rest of his food as they left him, grumbling the entire time about tofu.

The next visit to Deidara was no less interesting. The room set up was similar, with the only exception being that the window was closed. Deidara was pacing back and forth, and Sai stiffened, holding his arm up to block Hinata. Deidara looked over at them.

"You're all idiots. It's running wild down there and you don't do shit! You guys don't do shit! You, new girl, you keep away from the dark, or that thing'll get you. It'll get you just like it got the other one. You don't stay here, you leave, you RUN, or it'll get you just like the rest of us!" His eyes were wild. The playful, ornery side that they had just heard was nowhere to be found. Hinata felt a chill go up her spine. How the hell did he know about 313 all the way up here?

"Easy, Deidara, it's time for lunch. You need to take you're meds."

"Go fuck yourself! I'm not taking anything until you take care of that thing down there! I won't!"

"Deidara, we've been through this, there's nothing to be afraid of. Nothing is going to get you, it's okay," Sai said soothingly. Deidara stopped pacing and huddled on his bed, crying.

"It's not true! I saw it last night! It came in when I was sleeping, and tried to crawl in my throat! It's trying to get me!" he continued to sob wildly, shaking violently on the bed.

Hinata went over to him and gently stroked his hair. He moved fast, and burrowed his face into her stomach, wrapping his arms around her and shuddering as the cries wracked his body.

"Shhh, shh, shhh, it's okay, it was only a bad dream, Deidara, only a bad dream,"

"You're s-so n-new, y-you don't s-see it y-yet. N-nightmares, h-here they-re r-real. When y-you go down there, d-d-on't let it get you! It wants y-you to d-do bad th-things. N-not like m-my art, b-but bad things!"

"I'll be careful, but first you must take your medicine and eat, Deidara. Can you do that for me?" he nodded at her words and obediently held out his arm. The rest of the visit went without incident.

Kin had done nothing more than to say that she knew that something fishy was going on that that Deidara wasn't any crazier than her. She seemed to think that Hinata and Sai were the only good ones left in the place, and was happy that Sai was branching out from his main duties. Hinata was happy about that too, since Sai was so helpful when it came to training her. She really appreciated it.

Several more patients later they were walking back out through security. They had to eat their own lunch and then go back to A to work with some of the patients. Some were still agitated about last night. Apparently one of them had had a violent seizure in her bed and had been taken to the medical ward. Hinata was concerned about so many being in the medical ward, so many incidents over such a short time.

"Okay, you're doing well, just please don't try to hug any of the D's okay? Or the C's, normally, but you seem to be able to read the patients. Nice job." Hinata smiled happily.

As she walked out she had an eerie feeling that she was being watched. She glanced up at the windows in the big building. Perhaps a patient? Could be, but whom? She didn't notice the man in black taking pictures of her again; even when she drove off for her apartment.

Ward D

Patient 313 prowled about his tiny cell like a caged animal, hissing and growling. They could see him just through the small window on his door. His green eyes were bloodshot and full of malice. He glared at them as he paced, itching to kill them. The blond nurse nodded curtly at the other nurse in attendance, a girl with black hair and pale blond highlights. The hair was short and the eyes were dark. She was visibly shaking as she hit the button next to the door of his cell, causing the chain on his waist to retract and force him against the wall. He roared in fury as the door opened and the dark haired nurse walked in. Several doctors followed her and began to restrain him, panting with exertion as he flailed about, trying to get them off. The nurse managed to get a syringe to draw blood from him in his arm, and secured a sample, but the new drug never made it in him.

A violent twist of his waist threw the doctors off of him, and he managed to twist the arm holding the syringe. With a shrill scream she felt her wrist snap like a twig, and he was suddenly bringing her closer. His mouth opened wide, exposing those sharp, sharp teeth. Her eyes widened; he was going to bite her! He was going to rip out her throat!

Strong arms snatched her and began a tug of war with him, but Asuma was losing badly. It was only when the other doctors managed to join him was he able to pull the nurse free. Patient 313 screamed and threw himself against the shackle on his waist, trying to get at them, trying to rip them apart. The nurse was shaking; in shock and pain.

"Well, at least you managed to get a blood sample."

"You can just shut up; I didn't see you in there with him!" Asuma snapped at the blond nurse angrily. She leveled a stare at him.

"This research is of the highest importance; if that drug can control him-"

"You put others at risk, others who don't have the experience necessary to deal with something like him. You do it because you don't have the balls to deal with him yourself! Now if you would excuse us, we need to get to the medical ward!" they all walked off, leaving her alone with her blood sample. Asuma hoped that it was worth it.

Ward B

Patient 177 rocked back and forth on the floor of his cell, whimpering in pain. The brown-haired man hadn't realized achieving his dream would be so painful. It all hurt so much, too much. His whimpers grew into sobs as his back began to feel the slithery sensation of worms under his skin. He clawed at it madly as his muscles began to spasm. This wasn't a dream-it was a nightmare. He could feel the worms growing in his back, growing and trying to push their way out.

He screamed and screamed as the worms keep trying to push their way free, writhing and flailing on the floor. In the darkness, the blood looked like ink as it splattered the wall. He continued to claw at his back, trying to get the worms out. Maybe if he set them free they would stop hurting him. Maybe, maybe…

White light from the door blinded him, and a faint pinprick in his throat startled him. Soon after, blurry images of nurses and doctors were all he saw before the world went dark. Patient 177 slumped on the floor before being heaved up into a stretcher and wheeled out by the doctors.


	6. Chapter 6

Song by Disturbed

Chapter Six

Overburdened

"Why haven't you been getting me my samples? I can only culture so many! I can't work miracles if you don't give me the ingredients!" The blond nurse flinched at the shadowy figure's anger, and then stiffened her spine.

"He's been most uncooperative, no one can hold him long enough to draw enough blood. All of the nurses are still skittish."

"Then use the new one that's been in Ward C. She's been doing well, yes?"

"Yes, but it's still too soon-"

"Put her in there. Let's see if she can use her charms on him like she does with the others." The blond nurse hesitated; then nodded before walking out of the lab. That doctor of Danzo's was an ass, even if he was brilliant. She'd like to see him try his luck with the monster.

Ward D

_ Pain. So much pain. Foul beasts tried to take again. He was fighting so hard, but it wasn't enough. Not even close. Soon, he would be too weak, too weak to fight it. It would be too late then, far too late. But it was already too late; they had taken that first night, for that first week actually. But now they couldn't, not yet anyway. Vile prey-enemies would suffer for it; suffer for what they've done. Suffer for locking him away under the ground, suffer for stealing from him, suffer for making him suffer. He would find a way, and then he would take from them._

_ He hissed and coughed the last remnants of the gas from his lungs, and thrashed against the wall. They had left in such a hurry after he had broken that male prey-enemy's arm. The big prey-enemy had left him chained here against the wall. He howled his frustration and was answered by a chorus from the caged ones. They always answered when anyone made noise. He twisted and writhed, jerking against the pin that held the chain tight. Soon enough a metallic ping sounded, and the chain slackened. He began to pace around the room. The weld holding the chain was intact, but they could no longer wind the chain. He rubbed the chain in his hands. He'd like to see it as a necklace on that blond prey-enemy's throat._

Cafeteria in the Nurse's Building

Hinata sighed softly as she bit into her veggie and egg-substitute sandwich. It wasn't half-bad, really. Still, real eggs were better. Maybe she'd have breakfast for dinner tonight, with a great big omelet. Yum, with mushrooms, ham, cheese, tomatoes…her reverie was interrupted by Sai, who placed a black folder in front of her. She blinked.

"Normally I'm against this. I think it's too soon. I think he'll eat you alive. He's outwrestled Asuma, for God's sake, let alone you or any other nurse. But Danzo has given strict orders to his pet doctor, who has given strict orders to Nurse Chicken-shit. Shit rolls downhill and it lands squarely on us, especially you. You're in Ward D tomorrow, with Three-thirteen. That is his file. Please, read it. Then, look up the Konoha Dispatch's story on his capture online, you'll see the date in his file. Read it, study it, and prepare yourself for him."

"O-okay, I'll read it."

"Hinata, he broke the retraction system in his chain. When you go in there, he will be loose, and ready to kill you. The gas, for whatever reason, doesn't seem to be enough anymore. Please, if you even think he's going to get you, get the hell out. He's smart; he'll try to lure you in close. He's done it once already. Anna didn't know about the chain, and he played her like the predator he is. He pretended to be restrained against the wall, got her to come close, and then strangled her with it last night. He crushed her windpipe and two vertebrae in her neck. If he's hanging back, you do the same. He's not shy or afraid; he's just trying to get you in range" she nodded numbly. She'd met Anna briefly; she'd seemed nice at the time. She shivered. She'd do her job, but she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't a little frightened at the prospect of going down there with him.

Sai sat down beside her and opened the file to go over it with her. They'd review the other ones tomorrow morning, but for now he was more concerned with the monster. That evil son of a bitch would eat her alive if she let him. The only reason Anna hadn't been ripped open was their swift response. That thing had quite literally chased them out, screaming at them all the way. The dart gun that they had taken to using on him had done its job…sort of. It had barely slowed him down enough for them to get out of range of his chain and out the door. He had never heard of any patient developing such a strong tolerance to the tranqs. Perhaps they over used them, but still, after so many shots other patients would either be dead or in a coma, depending on their size. Hell, half of the dosage would have that effect on them.

"He has cannibalized quite a few people, as you can see from the file. No one here as of yet; we've managed to keep him from biting, but he will try. His teeth are like a shark's in a way, and the canines are slightly elongated, so a bite would be very serious. This makes us suspect that he may have been part of Suna's military; many of their troops, particularly those that go in for close quarter combat, opt for their teeth to be filled and capped as a last ditch weapon.

"In addition to that, he also seems to have knowledge of hand-to-hand combat, but the skills seem to come and go, as if they fade in and out of his mind. The only reason we have kept him contained is through the tranquilizers and sheer numbers, and it is just barely. He is very, VERY strong and if he gets a grip he doesn't let go. You will have to be physically pulled away from him and it will probably result in a broken limb. Don't let him grab you. I know that's hard, with the food trays and medications and such, but trust me, don't let him grab you. If he does you may not make it out alive. No matter what Nurse Chicken-shit says, you go with your gut and come out of there alive, okay? Promise me that, I'm sick to death of sending out death notices to families because of him."

"O-okay, Sai," she whispered softly. He nodded and they continued to go over the file. The body count was staggering, but beyond that there was next to no information on him. This puzzled her. If he was a transfer, the medical files should've come with him, but there was almost nothing before his escape and recapture during the transfer. Where was all of the information?

"Sai, this is a little, well-"

"Empty? Yeah, I know. It's all from us too, and I'm not sure what's up with that. Could be something with their military, but it makes it so hard to treat him. We have nothing to go on; we're shooting in the dark. I mean, I understand national security and military secrets and stuff, but it gets hard to swallow when it's your coworkers dying right and left. He's not telling us anything either, in fact, he doesn't talk much at all. He hasn't said much of anything since his capture."

"Well, you'd think that they'd maybe provide some basic information," Hinata said softly. Pity filled her. God knows what he'd been through, and they'd abandoned him completely. At least, that's what it felt like to her anyway. Poor thing…

However, that poor thing was also a mass-murderer, so pity must not cloud her judgment in any way; she liked being alive and in one piece, thank you very much. She continued to study his scant file, filled mostly with violent incident reports. She sighed and tossed her lunch in the trash. She had suddenly lost her appetite.

Afterwards they headed up to Ward C to finish their rounds. The last patient was Orochimaru, number 111. He seemed pleased to see her. He also gave her a case of the willies. That evil, demented grin didn't help matters. She had to admit, she was genuinely creeped out. The other patients concerned, startled her, sometimes frightened her, sometimes caused her to pity them, but they hadn't yet creeped her out. Score one for One-eleven.

"I've heard that you're going down there, do take care of him, won't you? He's perfection, you know, it wouldn't do to displease him," she silently set his tray down and handed him his meds, which he took while watching her.

"I'm sure he'll be very pleased with a pretty little girl like you. Oh yes, very pleased indeed." She heard his evil chuckle all the way out. Great, just what she needed to hear before she went down there. She headed to her locker, grabbed her purse and jacket, and walked out. Her car started without complaint, which was good, because it looked like it was going to rain again. She puttered out and headed home.

Urusai chirped and squawked his greetings, and she took him out and sat him on her shoulder. She popped her leftover soup in the microwave and gave him a treat as she transferred him to her other shoulder with a towel. Birds didn't really care where they pooped, and Urusai was no exception. He made happy sounds as he ate his treat. She settled herself in front of the computer and began to search the paper.

That night had been busy, but he had still made the front page. His article started right above the one about an old factory blowing up and causing part of the old subway tunnel to collapse. It was blamed on gangs battling over turf and drugs. He hadn't been too far away, only half a mile from the blast. It must have been the distraction that he had needed to break out of the ambulance, or it could have caused a flashback in him. In any event, he had made his way to a supermarket where he had killed two boys before turning on the doctors and police that had responded. Brutal, and bloodthirsty; he was definitely not to be taken lightly.

The next day she headed down with Sai into the basement. Their carts were laden with medications, files, and food trays. The elevator was a simple steel affair, double doors and slightly claustrophobic. The security checkpoint was not helping her nerves, with its intense scrutiny but it had to be done. She shivered; it was unusually cold down here. Or maybe it was her nerves. It was darker down here; the white florescent lights didn't seem strong enough; leaving the white walls and floor to appear slightly grey.

The patients were generally uncooperative; two spat at her, but fortunately missed, one tried to attack her and was sedated, three threw their meds at her and were given injections, one screamed profanities at her and another rubbed himself while looking at her. So it was understandable that she eyed the door to 313's cell with trepidation. Sai took a deep breath, and nodded. She opened the door.

_ They were out there; he could smell them and hear them out there. They were planning their strategy for him. He growled softly; oh how he hated them! Hated them all, wanted to see their bodies bleeding in front of him, the sweet coppery elixir warm on his tongue. The door opened and he glared defiantly at the new prey-enemy._

_ She was very new and fresh; she still smelled of outside, of rain and leaves, of dew and flowers. She smelled of out THERE, where he wanted to be! Outside, free from this pit! Pretty prey-enemy, pretty dark blue hair, pretty pale eyes, pretty pale skin that looked soft and tender and sweet. So very pretty, so very wary. He wondered how pretty she'd be weeping bloody tears as her face turned blue while he strangled her. _


	7. Chapter 7

Song by Korn.

Chapter Seven

Fear is a Place to Live

She had to admit that she wasn't really prepared for what stood before her. No, that wasn't it, loomed was a much more appropriate word. He loomed before her, and was growling softly at her. She had never heard such a perfect growl come from a person, it was like a lion, or a tiger. He was tall, well over six feet, and he had the chain tight in the air due to his position; he had quite literally reached the end of the rope. His arms were pulled behind him in a straightjacket, and he leaned forward with his shoulders, trying to get at her. His hair was a brilliant scarlet, like fresh blood, his eyes a startling green ringed in black. Tattoo ink perhaps? Insomnia was possible, but to achieve that perfect black ink must have been used. A scarlet kanji was on his forehead, and his teeth were indeed very sharp. She took one step forward, and then paused. Something wasn't right.

Sai had warned her of him grabbing her, but if he was in a straightjacket, that wasn't possible. Also, he had said something about the length of his chain. She examined him more thoroughly, from head to toe. His features were gaunt, starved even. He would be very handsome if he wasn't so painfully thin. His eyes were maddened, but aware, and studying her. He hissed angrily at her, baring those sharp teeth. Two perfectly lethal rows desperate to rip her open snapped at her. His feet were bare and silent even as he strained against the chain. Even so, there was something off about him…she slid one small step forward, gazing at his eyes. Something flicked through them, too fast for her to catch exactly what. That's when it hit her.

He was only straining with his shoulders and feet, no twisting or turning of his torso. His legs pushed against the ground with his feet, but his hips were stationary. That didn't suit an inmate as violent as him; he should be struggling more. No drugs had been given to him for quite a while, so that left one option. He was playing her; somehow he was playing her, but how? She looked at his arms, and realized the truth.

Sai wouldn't have warned her about his grip if he wasn't able to grab her. He was being very careful not to move his arms which meant…she could see it now. He had torn holes in his straitjacket; allowing his hands through. He had ripped out the seam almost to his elbow and was holding the extra chain behind him. He was trying to hide the holes and the extent of his reach from her, to lure her in close. Close enough for him to grab her. He had been trying to bait her this entire time without appearing to bait her.

"Y-you can drop the act, I c-can see what you're d-doing," she cursed herself inside; he had brought back her old stutter that she had thought herself rid of. She only did it when surprised now, but he had made her do it. Having someone trying to kill you would do that to a person, she supposed.

He dropped the chain and lunged at her, stopping just a hairsbreadth away. His hand was almost touching her face while the other had just missed her nurse's jacket. She jumped back. He screamed at her; enraged that she had caught on. She scuttled backwards as fast as she could, and then stopped. She had a job to do; it was time for his meal. She calmed herself as best as she could and got his meal from her cart while Sai argued with a blond nurse and two security guards. She went back inside and carefully got as close as she dared and slid the meal over to him. He was deadly quiet, studying her again. There was no way in hell that she was going to give him any medications or get a sample of his blood. He jerked his head at her and turned around to get the tray. She walked back out, clearly dismissed by the monster.

"HEADS UP!" Sai shoved her violently moments before the tray slammed against the wall where her head was. The force of the impact sent hot food flying everywhere and shattered the plastic tray. Her eyes widened. While that may not have killed her, it would've hurt; and the shards of plastic could have cut her badly enough to need stitches. 313 hissed at her again, looking both frustrated and slightly amused. It was evident that he liked her fear, but he clearly wanted blood and flesh more. She couldn't remember the last time that anyone had frightened her like this; not even Sasuke had looked at her like that; like he wanted to rip her open and eat her organs. She shivered again, then stood up and looked at him in the eyes.

"Th-that was rude, a-and uncalled for." His response was to rub the chain in his hands and gaze back, flicking his eyes from her throat to her eyes and back again. At first she was puzzled; then her face went white. He was fantasizing about strangling her, and looking in her eyes while he did it. He was thinking about it like most men would think about sex with a pretty girl; and the real kicker was that he wanted her to know that. He smirked at her, and gave an evil burst of laughter; pleased that she had gotten the message. Sai shut the door, and Hinata leaned against the wall; fighting the urge to freak out.

"Hinata, I am so sorry; they didn't tell me, I swear they didn't. If I had known I wouldn't have let you go in there."

"Well, it was worth a try. Perhaps if we give it more time it will work." The blond nurse walked over with two security guards in tow. Hinata blinked in confusion. What was going on? Sai shot them a dirty look.

"Keep in mind that it's not your precious skin that you're risking! These are people that you're toying with! If you keep this bullshit up; I'll report you to Danzo so fast-"

"I have his authority, Sai. That thing needs to be brought to heel. If the girl can gain the trust of the other patients, then she may have success with him. We will try again tomorrow."

"Her name is Hinata! You should at least try to remember the names of the people whose lives you put at risk!" The nurse nodded and walked off with the guards. Hinata turned to Sai.

"What's going on?"

"That bitch did that on purpose. She's putting you in there with no back up. She's convinced that you'll get him to behave on your own. As long as her skin's not at risk, she sees no harm in making others do her dirty work for her. She's too scared to go in there, even with guards." Hinata stared at him in shock.

"You mean I'm going in there alone? Just me and him?" Sai nodded dully. Hinata sat on the floor.

"Okay. I can't believe I'm saying this, but okay."

Ward D, Floor D3

He couldn't believe it. He just couldn't believe it. He hated the nightshift down here. Asuma stared at the monitors in disbelief. The only one that was quiet was Three-thirteen on D4, the rest were going nuts! He was just sitting there, staring at the camera with those creepy eyes. He never blinked, and the intensity of the gaze made it seem like he could actually see you. Some of the other guards even swore that his eyes followed you if you moved around the room.

The other patients were pacing, throwing themselves around the room, or thrashing in a nightmare. They were screaming, giggling, roaring, and crying, which was freaking the guards patrolling the halls out. It also made it hard to find trouble in the rooms, when they all carried on like that. Not 313, though, he just kept staring at the camera, unconcerned with the mayhem surrounding him. Creepy bastard.

Asuma flicked his gaze from monitor to monitor; stopping on room 289. The woman inside was having convulsions. Asuma swore and radioed the security officers and the nurses on staff. He would have found her sooner if the others had been calm…

"Briggs, Schmitty, Hino, Nalers, report to patient Two-eighty-nine, she's having some sort of seizure."

"Copy that." He watched as they ran to the room and tended to the patient, then went back to checking the other inmates once she was sedated and restrained before being hauled off to the medical ward. His eyes were drawn back to 313. He had his head cocked to one side, and he was smirking as he gazed into the camera.

Ward A

Hiroko gathered the girl in her arms as another screaming woman was led away from their ward. At least this one had been farther away this time. This was the fourth one from Ward A to be taken; two men and two women. She shivered as the screams reached a pitch that made her spine and scalp prickle. The woman lunged at one of the male nurses and sank her teeth in his arm. He yelled and tried to pull away; and the others shoved a syringe into her neck, trying to sedate her. Both the nurse and the woman were whisked away into the medical ward, while the rest of the inmates tried to calm themselves and each other. Hiroko held Chelsea close. It wasn't just the men; the women were almost equal now when it came to the medical ward. Something else was disturbing; even after all this time, 578 hadn't been back. What was more; there was no news about any of the inmates who went to the medical ward. It was like they vanished into thin air.

Chelsea nuzzled into her neck, shivering. Hiroko made her decision. She would ask Hinata about it. She may know what was going on. Perhaps things were not as bad as they seemed. Things often looked worse in the dark.

Of course, things could be far, far worse. If so, they would need to leave before they all disappeared; like the others that went to the medical ward. It could be just as evil as she suspected.

Ward B

Patient 523 tossed and turned in his room, but to no avail. The nightmare came and swallowed him up as it always did. He moaned in despair, but did not-could not-wake.

He was strapped to the bed in the medical ward, but without any of the IV tubes and other medical devices. The light above him was dim; the door to his room was open, leaving him to stare down an impossibly long and dark hallway. Whispering, wet slithering sounds were slowly approaching, and he whimpered helplessly. He began to tug on the metal cuffs and belts holding him down. Blood poured from his wrists as he yanked on them.

The slithering thing was getting closer, and the whimpers had turned into dry sobs of terror. There was a wet warmth between his legs as he continued to yank desperately on the cuffs. With a violent jerk his hands were free, and he clawed madly at the restraints on his chest. It was too late.

The thing was in his room, barely visible in the dim yellow light. It loomed over its hapless prey. 523 looked up and screamed.


	8. Chapter 8

Song by Korn

Chapter Eight

Liar

_ Lucky prey-enemy. Smart prey-enemy. He fingered the discarded jacket. It had made for good bait, but the little female prey-enemy had caught on. Pity. She would have been beautiful as he killed her. Such a pretty prey-enemy. Too pretty to live on her own. There was no scent of other prey-enemies on her. Strange creature. He would get her somehow. She would slip up; they always did. He would be waiting. He resisted tearing the jacket up more before slipping it back on. It itched. It tugged. It smelled of old blood from someone before. It was cold though, they kept the temperatures down here below sixty at night. As if it would make a difference. It was too late. They had already let it out. Pandora was stupid, and so were these prey-enemies._

_ His head pounded, and the raw hole in his stomach cramped angrily. Starving him, they were starving him! Why didn't they find him, why haven't they come? They knew what would happen if it went on for much longer! Why? Why had they left him alone in this pit? _

Tutti Fruitsies

Hinata handed the clerk her coupons and finished writing her check. Saying goodbye, she headed out the door with her groceries, thinking of home, dinner, and her new patient. She was planning to start digging through the papers; hoping to hit on another news story on him. Maybe his name would turn up; maybe something useful would turn up. It was much more likely that it would be a waste of time; after all, if there was something to be found it would be in his file. She headed for her car and loaded her bags up before driving off. A man in a black sedan snapped some pictures before following her at a discreet distance. She pulled into her apartment complex and headed in while the man continued on for a block before parking on the side of the road.

"Watcher to Shadowman, do you copy?"

"Watcher? Shadowman? What kind of lame codenames are those?"

"Oh shut up! I found the target's place of residence; will turn around to gather more data before returning to base, over."

"You're a pain in the ass, you know that right? Just say that you're taking pictures of a vulnerable single lady while she's unaware, just like a whole bunch of perverted creeps do to girls everywhere."

"Would you shut up?! This is serious! This has to be by the book, you know that!"

"Dude, none of this is by the book, you know that. The only hope that you have is that if things are as bad as you say they are, it'll make this legit. You and I both know that!"

"Things are that bad, and this is our only option. We have to go forward."

"Doesn't mean that we need lame code names."

"You want to use your real name?"

"Not really, no, I'm just saying that you could do better than that, that's all."

"Fine, from now on you're Sick Bastard Two Point Oh, and I'm Rambo."

"You know what Watcher? Just call me Shadowman, or the next time I'll set up a real doozy of a virus for your pretty new laptop."

"Fine, but I think Sick Bastard is more accurate."

"Sick Bastard should refer to the accountant." The man chuckled in agreement. He snapped a few more pictures of the apartment building and left.

Hinata fed Urusai and he whistled and carried on while she made dinner. A knock sounded at her door, rather formal and stiff. She grinned. Neji could be so weird about things like that. She opened the door to see her cousin standing there stiffly.

"Hey Neji, come in."

"It would've been nice to know that the drunken lady down the hall was also a cougar and a nymphomaniac." Hinata's jaw dropped.

"She tried to drag me into her apartment, but I got away. She pinched me on the…well, you know. Anyways, I just wanted to stop by and see how you're doing. Ah, your bird seems happy." He nodded to Urusai who continued to whistle and squawk and say random words. Hinata smiled.

"Ah, well, Urusai and I are doing okay, sorry about Shirley, she's a little…unpredictable when she's like that. She's usually okay though. Unless you happen to be a man, then she'll go after you. How did you fend her off?"

"I didn't, another person came up and shoved his tongue in her throat. I took off before they got too busy with each other." Neji tried to unobtrusively sniff the air. Begging for food was beneath any Hyuga, but Hinata was such a good cook. She looked at him with knowing eyes and he looked a little abashed at getting caught.

"Stay for dinner, Neji, you and I both know it's the only way you'll get a home cooked meal."

"Well…alright, as long as I'm not imposing or anything." Hinata smiled softly at him. He smiled back and sat at the table.

"Um, Neji, something at work has been bothering me."

"Hinata, you work at a mental hospital; I'd be concerned if you weren't bothered."

"Oh, you, behave. Don't torment the cook."

"I didn't mean it like that! It's just, well, you know. Crazy people do crazy things that bother sane people. That's why I work with computers; it doesn't involve people. What's up?"

"You know, that sounded like an antisocial disorder to me, perhaps I should report you."

"That's not funny!" he looked alarmed and a little cross. She had always had that sneaky sense of humor; and it was only funny when it wasn't directed at him. When it was directed at Hiashi it was hilarious because he was clueless about it.

"Okay, well, I can't give you specifics because of the nature of the patients that I help care for, but one in particular is bugging me. Can I keep this purely hypothetical and trust that you will do the same?"

"Sure. What's up?" Neji opened the fridge and poured himself a glass of juice. Seeing that his adorable cousin already had one, he put it back.

"Okay, well, what if there was a patient who had no known identity and was in an isolated ward with serious aggression issues, we're talking gruesome homicidal tendencies with cannibalism thrown in. Now, say this patient has physical evidence of being in another country's military, and is in fact a transfer from that country, but that is as much information that we have. Your thoughts?"

"Was there any other hypothetical information given?"

"Nothing except a body count and a few images of some of the victims."

"Nothing from the previous institution or military?"

"No."

"What makes you think he's military?"

"A coworker's notes, observation of behavior and certain physical traits, which are found in a hypothetical country's military with some regularity, especially in soldiers engaging in hand-to-hand combat."

"Well, shit, Hinata. That's not good. Your hypothetical situation is ugly. I've done work on computers for a variety of medical and military institutions. Those places are tight-lipped when it comes to privacy, but they have a boatload of information about everything, especially their personnel. Yet this mystery patient is pretty much a ghost as far as they're concerned? There's no way. If his files aren't there in either the computer or in the folder, then something's up. Could be military secrets that they don't want to share, could be medical experimentation on their part. But, and here's the issue I have with that theory, why did they ship him off to an institution? Especially one in another country? Military secrets are military secrets, and I don't see any military from any country just sending them off to another country.

"If it's the institution itself, well, that's ugly too. That means that they just kidnapped someone from another country's military. But that's a little far-fetched, though. I can't see a bunch of nurses and such successfully invading a military base and making off with one of their soldiers. Let's get real. And what's the motive in kidnapping such a nutcase anyway? What are they going to do with him? In any case, nothing about that makes any sense. So watch your hypothetical ass, Hinata, because that has the potential of getting very dangerous. I don't like it, that situation shouldn't have happened, that kind of stuff just doesn't fit together like that. Keep your eyes and ears open." Hinata nodded.

"That's what I've been thinking. It's nice to know that I'm not paranoid; or at least not the only one." Neji sighed softly.

"If Uncle wasn't being such a difficult, obtuse, misogynistic Neanderthal you wouldn't have to work there. But that's beside the point. Sasuke's been coming around asking questions. Hanabi told him to fuck off; I triggered the sprinkler system when he tried to knock again, but Uncle let him in, and assured him that although he didn't know where you were, he was desperately trying to find you. He said that Sasuke would be the first person he called, as if you two were to be married."

"Sasuke never proposed, and he cheated. A lot; and he drank even more. I went to my father the first time he hurt me. He refused to help me, acted as if it were my fault. When I found out about the other women, I told him again, after all, why would someone as fixated on the image of his family want a drunken womanizer as a son-in-law? But you know this already, so…"

"Yeah, well, I've been a little busy on that front. Uncle Hiashi insists on having all of those new gadgets, even when he can barely work the remote control for the TV. Not my fault that he doesn't remember his passwords to everything," his voice was blank, but there was a slight mischievous glint in his eyes. Hinata giggled and gave him a hug.

"Thanks, big brother." He chuckled and patted her back. They settled in to eat, chatting idly about a variety of topics. When he left Hinata felt much better.

Ward C

It had found him. Despite everything he had done, it had still found him. He whimpered softly in his room as the beast began to slink out of the wall. It was so dark, but the thing was darker. It had long tentacles that slithered like a myriad of snakes, and it had several clawed limbs that were similar in structure to a spider's, save for the wrist at the end wielding three razor-sharp claws dripping some sort of fluid. He couldn't see the head, not yet. It wasn't able to enter the room completely, not yet, not yet. Deidara screamed…and jolted himself awake. The room was still dark, but…there it was. There were shadows, its shadows, flickering just on the edge of his vision. It was still there. He trembled and went over to the vent. He could hear his neighbor whimpering. The beast had found him too.


End file.
